Many multimedia presentations provided through a distribution system include a video and audio component. In addition, some content provided by the distribution system may include subtitles or closed captioning corresponding to the audio component that may be displayed along with the multimedia presentation. Subtitles typically display a text transcription of the audio component of the multimedia presentation as it occurs so that a hearing impaired viewer may read the dialogue of the presentation to assist in the comprehension of the presentation. In some instances, the subtitles may include additional information of the audio component of the presentation besides the dialogue, such as identity of the speakers, manner of speaking, lyrics to songs and/or ambient sounds.
For those multimedia presentations that are pre-recorded, subtitles may be generated and associated with the presentation prior to providing the presentation to a viewer through the network such that, when viewed, the subtitles may appear in synch with the video component of the presentation. For live programs, subtitles are often generated by a live operator or computer program simultaneously with the broadcast of the program through an analysis of the audio component of the presentation. However, subtitles that are generated by a live operator or computer program are often displayed with a significant lag behind the audio component of the presentation such that the subtitles often appear out of synch with the video component of the presentation. Such lag often creates frustration for hearing impaired viewers as the dialogue may not match or no longer describe what is displayed in the accompanying video component. In addition, the text of the subtitles of live programs often include significant errors due to human or computer program error during transcription, resulting in further frustration to the viewer of the subtitled presentation.